Yes, it's true... online registration for the event Arm Wrestling for a Cure is now closed, but don't worry. All you have to do is come to the event at El Zarape on Saturday, September 22nd at 7:00pm and you may pay at the door. ($20 for participants and $10 for spectators.)

All entry fees include delicious Mexican food. Come for a chance to win door prizes, raffle prizes, trophies, and more! Most importantly, come for a chance to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society who is a driving force behind breakthroughs in treating blood cancer patients! Together we will find a cure!

Woohoo! I am a little over halfway to reaching my fundraising minimum of $2,500 for cancer research and paitent support! A HUGE thanks and shout out to all of the wonderful people who have already helped make this a huge success.

I created a VIDEO while running in California as a part of my Team in Training workout. On the run I reminisced about biking in China, Nicaragua, and Mexico. I've lost 66 pounds since my first biking adventure in China! I've saved my life, now it's time to save more lives. Check out my BLOG to learn more about my journey and how you can help to save lives.

Click HERE to check out the video!

You may also click "donate now" found on the right hand side to support my challenge of running 26.2 miles to save lives.

Thank you for your support!

This morning as I was reading May's issue of Triathlete Magazine I loved seeing the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training featured second in their article titled "Selflessness Through Sport". The article said, "The largest program worldwide to pair endurance sports with fundraising is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training (TNT). ... To date, TNT has raised more than $1.2 billion to fund cancer research and to enhance the lives of blood cancer patients."

GO TEAM!

Please consider donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society by supporting my 26.2 mile marathon. One of the ways you may support my 26.2 mile run is by pledging a dollar amount for every mile.

$1/mile = $26.20

$2/mile = $52.40

$3/mile = $78.60

$4/mile = $104.80

$5/mile = $131.00

Thank you in advance for your support! Together we can and will find a cure.

Thursday night, June 21st, I arrived safely back home to Yuba City, California. When people ask me how long I am here for, I respond with a smile, “I don’t have any plans to leave.” It’s been almost three days since coming back and I’m still in the period of adjustment. So many things are different; temperature (at 60 degrees I find myself bundled up and shivering), people, culture, living arrangements, food, etc. As I was sitting in church this morning, however, I couldn’t help but smile because it feels so great to be back amongst so many loved ones!

Yesterday, Saturday June 20th, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with my Placer TNT Team for a joint group workout with the Sacramento TNT Team. We met at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery and enjoyed a chilly 8 mile run along the river. Such a stark difference between these 8 miles and 8 miles in Torreon!

I ran the first 7 miles by myself, but then joined up with two women named Dora and Kelsey for the remaining 1 mile. Never did I think I’d be running below a 9 min/mile pace and be able to hold a conversation! I love the improvement I see in my body, health, and running the more I train!

It was so fun to be able to train with about 40 other men and women all working towards the same goal... to run a marathon while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Every time I came across a team member on the trail we’d exchange a “looking good”, “go team”, or “good job”. So inspiring!

What was even more inspiring was hearing from a woman before our workout who shared her story with blood cancer. She shared that after having a bone marrow transplant she was told by her doctor that she is now in remission. Getting choked up, she continued by sharing her appreciation to us for raising funds for continued research and patient support. She is proof that there are improvements being made and lives are being changed.

After the workout I was able to talk to Jana Greenburg our Team in Training campaign manager. I had taken a copy of my fundraising letter to get her feedback about if there was anything I needed to add or omit. It was so encouraging to hear her give me such positive feedback. To read a copy of the letter you may go here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1FAnBeffG0ySlVRS1ZUdk5kSlE

Please consider donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society by supporting my marathon. You may support my 26.2 mile run by pledging a dollar amount for every mile.

$1/mile = $26.20

$2/mile = $52.40

$3/mile = $78.60

$4/mile = $104.80

$5/mile = $131.00

Thank you in advance for your support! Together we can and will find a cure. You may donate to my event by clicking "donate now" at the right.

We are only half way through the calendar year and I’ve already reached my goal… 12 i 2012! Sadly, however, I will not be running races every weekend once I return back to California since the cost for each race will be about six times as much as they are here in Mexico. I will, however, still race because it is too fun not to!

Today’s 10k was only okay for me. The first thing that was different this time around was that I didn’t eat my usual half of a granola bar with peanut butter because I didn’t have any granola bars in my pantry. The next thing that went wrong is that I started the race way too fast to hold the pace the entire 6.2 miles. Then, I had a side stitch about halfway through. Finally, I was zapped of energy because I was tossing and turning the night before.

Although this was not my best 10k ever, I am still happy that I gave it all that I had. A part of me didn’t mind taking it a little slower than normal because I wanted to enjoy every last moment of my last race in Mexico. In a mere 4 days I will be leaving Torreon, Mexico in search of a job back home in California. Many have asked, “Are you sad?” The answer is that it’s bittersweet. I am overjoyed to be going back home with loved ones, but I will miss so many things here in Torreon.

A wonderful gift from God was being able to run into Alejandro one more time before leaving Torreon. In the final two kilometers Alejandro ran up behind me and said, “Animo California.” Shocked I turned and saw Alejandro’s bright and smiling face. Once we crossed the finish line he gave me a gift (his bag from the desert run he ran at the end of May) and we took one final picture together. Some people have an everlasting impact on your life. This is true about Alejandro.

Now that my races here in Mexico are finished it’s time to focus my attention on my training for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. I am so stoked to return to California, meet my team, and train with them for this event. I am also really excited that this is my first race for charity. I will be running the Nike Women’s Marathon to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The person I am honoring in my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society run is my Uncle Gene who has so bravely fought his battle with cancer. He is amazingly resilient and adventurous.

Uncle Gene writes, “The Great thing about flying is, I think that sometimes I get so high and the views are so majestic that I look up and just give thanks. From that altitude, I think there is a better chance of Him hearing me.”

Please donate to my efforts of raising lifesaving funds to fight the battle with cancer. Together we can and will find a cure. You can donate to my event by clicking "donate now" at the right.

As of today I have 11 days remaining in Mexico. This morning appropriately was my 11th race in Mexico in 2012.

There’s only one race remaining; the Father’s Day race on June 17th. It’s such a bitter sweet feeling. I am so overjoyed to be returning to my hometown, Yuba City, California, my family, and my friends. I am, however, sad to be leaving Mexico because this is where I have called “home” for the last two years. Although this may not sound like a long time to others, it is here I’ve remained the longest since first leaving my hometown in 2003. In the past nine years I have lived in eight different locations.

Mexico first made an imprint on my heart back in 2001 when I traveled to Tijuana on a mission’s trip. Now Mexico has made an even greater imprint on my heart. It is here in Mexico that I’ve healed, grown, and changed my lifestyle. I first arrived to Torreon in August 2010 broken, lost, and unhealthy. Now, in June 2012, I am leaving repaired, found, and healthy.

A huge part of me redefining my lifestyle has been finding the joy in running. If you would have told me in March 2011 that I, Stephanie, would one day use the words “joy” and “running” in the same sentence I would have laughed and called you crazy. Why do I love running races so much? Hmmm… let me count the ways:

• 1) The camaraderie amongst the fellow runners. Very often runners will cheer each other on as they’re running side by side, offer to share fuel, and congratulate each other once they cross the finish line. Just today I had a male runner who stuck with me the entire five kilometers. In the remaining push to the end we both exchanged a glance and then began to sprint until we reached the finish line. Once we crossed the finish line we smiled and shook hands.

• 2) The benefits enjoyed from running. Although I had been going to the gym for a year, it wasn’t until I started to run that I truly began to see such a difference in my body. My lung capacity, my weight, my heart rate, and my physique were all greatly affected.

• 3) The SWAG. (Thanks to Kat I just recently learned this means “stuff we all get”.) Here in Mexico every time you finish it is very common to receive a medal, a shirt, Gatorade, juice, and fruit. A fun event complete with SWAG and friends for about 10 USD… can’t get much better than that!

• 4) The ability to unleash my competitive side in a safe environment. Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am quite competitive. I can make almost anything a competition. When I run races I am competing against my previous times, my friends, and every other runner that’s around me. It’s these competitors that keep me pushing through the heat, the thirst, the pain, the hunger, and the burning lungs.

How long will I continue running? As long as my body lets me. There are just too many great races to be run to stop now. One can always better their time, find a new challenge, run in a new location. For this week I am choosing to remember each step I take, listen to each breath I breathe, and take in all of the remaining sights and sounds that Torreon has to offer. (Yes, even the smog and graffiti.)

My next BIG challenge is the Nike Women's Marathon. I’m training to run this marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to raise life-saving funds to help those fighting blood cancers. Please help! You can donate to my event by clicking the "Donate Now" button found on the right hand side. No donation amount is too small. Thank you!

Happy National Running Day! Truth be told, I would have never known about National Running Day had it not been my awesome friends at Dailymile. I love Dailymile because it allows me one spot to track my workouts, be encouraged by others, and have a sense of community with like-minded people.

Well... I suppose I better go head out for a run. It is National Running Day afterall. Here's why I run...

Why do YOU run? (Or why do you WANT to start running?)

** Don't forget to please support my fundraising efforts for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by donating. No donation amount is too small. Also, please share my page with everyone you know. Many thanks! **

Welcome friends and family to my Team In Training home page.

As some of you already know, I went from non-runner March 27, 2011 to marathon finisher on March 4, 2012 ... a mere 342 days later! I now have my next mission in mind.

This mission is to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon on October 14, 2012 as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training.

According to the centers for disease control and prevention's website, "In 2007 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), more than 119,724 cases of blood, bone marrow, or lymph node cancers were diagnosed in the United States, and nearly 54,999 people died from these cancers. Among children and teens less than 20 years old, leukemia is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death.” (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HematologicCancers/)

My earliest memory of being affected by leukemia was when I was in third grade and a little first grader at my school, Nicolas, lost his battle with leukemia. It was then that my parents had to explain to me about this awful disease that took this young, vibrant boy’s life. I stood there with the other elementary students and honored young Nicolas’s life by releasing balloons into the air. I remember thinking that Nicolas was going to have a party in Heaven when all of the balloons reached him.

I will be training for this marathon thinking of Nicolas, his family, and all of the other families out there who are affected every day by blood cancers. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.

**If you have a family member or friend who has won the battle, is fighting the battle, or who sadly lost the battle with blood cancer, please send me at email at wellsstephaniek@gmail.com

wellsstephaniek.blogspot.com

**If you make a donation of $50 or more, your name will appear on my shirt the day of the race.**